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Regional emergency management committee reboot aims to boost training and mutual‑aid; participation remains a challenge
Summary
LCPC regional planner Melissa Menka outlined the REMC reboot, funded by EMPG and FEMA through Vermont Emergency Management, to support local training, mutual aid and regionwide response planning. Staff urged board members to encourage town participation, noting turnover and time constraints for local emergency managers.
Melissa Menka, regional planner and LCPC’s emergency planner, told the board she is reviving the Regional Emergency Management Committee (REMC) under the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program, which is administered by Vermont Emergency Management and funded by FEMA.
Menka said REMC membership includes emergency management directors from 10 towns plus an appointed member from each town; nonvoting participants can include responders, transportation organizations, medical groups and nonprofits. The REMC, she said, will provide regionwide trainings (she flagged a planned wildland fire training), early‑warning and mutual‑aid coordination and help towns identify gaps in supplies and services.
“If we’re successful, I think we’ll be a stronger, more resilient region and be able to act quickly and effectively to ensure the health, well‑being, and safety of our communities,” Menka said.
Board members asked how the REMC will interact with select boards. Menka said emergency management directors would bring REMC information back to their select boards and that LCPC can work with select boards upon request. She acknowledged that participation has been inconsistent; Duncan Hastings and other members noted many emergency managers serve in multiple volunteer roles and have limited time. Menka said the statute allows proxy voting so regions can form quorums even when some members cannot attend, and staff will focus on delivering the information and resources that would make participation worthwhile.
Trevor Brown asked whether the state Public Safety Communications Task Force had engaged REMC staff; Menka said she was not aware of outreach and asked colleagues to pass along a contact so she could follow up.
Menka asked board members to help promote REMC membership in their communities and said LCPC will circulate updated contacts following the state’s June 1 municipal emergency‑plan deadline. She also said staff will send save‑the‑dates for the next three REMC meetings and that Vermont Emergency Management staff would assist with tabletop exercises.
The board did not take formal action; the presentation served as an informational briefing and a request that board members encourage participation in the REMC.
